Bangladesh, Myanmar brace for Cyclone Mahasen

BANGKOK, 13 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for Cyclone Mahasen, a storm which could affect millions in the region, the UN has warned. full report

Analysis: Getting governments to cough up for DRR

AQABA, 9 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - Investing in preparation for potential disasters is a “no brainer”, Elizabeth Longworth, director of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), told a recent disaster risk reduction (DRR) conference in Aqaba, Jordan. full report

Countering the radicalization of Kenya's youth

NAIROBI, 6 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - Unemployment, poverty and political marginalization are contributing to the Islamic radicalization of Kenya's youth, a situation experts say must be addressed through economic empowerment and inclusive policies. full report

Arab cities aim to build resilience to natural disasters

AQABA, 29 April 2013 (IRIN Global) - Prevention may be better than a cure, but for the authorities in Arab cities and towns, natural disasters up to now have been largely about coping with them after they have taken place. full report

Imagining a major quake in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, 26 April 2013 (IRIN Asia) - It is the nightmare scenario aid workers and government officials have long feared: a massive earthquake striking Nepal’s densely populated Kathmandu Valley, with tens of thousands feared dead. full report

Philippines’ natural disaster risks shift, along with experts

MANILA, 10 April 2013 (IRIN Asia) - As the storm season approaches, officials in the Philippines are turning to seasoned storm emergency responders to help prepare communities that have historically been spared devastation but that now find themselves in harm’s way. full report

Will Somalia get enough rain this year?

JOHANNESBURG, 28 March 2013 (IRIN Africa) - Parts of southern Somalia are yet to recover from the battering they took in 2010-2011, when severe drought followed excessive rain, and now the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) says insufficient rain may fall in the coming months. "We are concerned - our forecast shows that there is 80 percent probability that rains could trend from normal to below normal across Somalia," said Gideon Galu, a regional FEWS NET scientist based in Africa. full report

Gender relations are changing along with climate

JOHANNESBURG, 25 March 2013 (IRIN Global) - A changing climate will inevitably have an impact on gender relations in conservative rural communities, but not enough is being done to boost the resilience of women - already disadvantaged by traditions of inequality. full report

Disaster Risk Reduction in the Arab world

AQABA, 20 March 2013 (IRIN Middle East) - Nearly 300 government officials, scientists, aid workers and activists from across the Arab world are working together in Jordan to draw up the first joint regional platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR). full report